fortable questions regarding how much of the film ’ s themes the child actress was exposed to . Mendelsohn is once again typecast as a creep , but his character is far more multi-dimensional than Mara ’ s , which suggests the film may have benefitted from a female co-writer . The best screen adaptations of stage plays are often those that readily accept that they ’ re adaptations of stage plays and settle on making the most of a limited cast in a limited location ( Sidney Lumet ’ s similarly themed The Offence a prime example ). In a vain attempt to add cinematic value ,

Andrews ’ film adds a pointless and distracting subplot concerning Ray burning bridges with his employers , an action that leads to himself and Una scurrying around his labyrinthine workplace to evade capture . The final act , in which Una arrives unannounced at a party thrown at the house Ray shares with his wife and his young stepdaughter is initially fraught with tension , but Andrews and Harrower fail to exploit its potential , and we ’ re left wondering how much more gripping the movie may have been had it adopted that setting for its entirety .

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Una 2 ½ stars out of 5

Directed by : Benedict Andrews

Starring : Rooney Mara , Ben Mendelsohn , Riz Ahmed , Tara Fitzgerald , Ruby Stokes